Identity construction through English language learning in intra-national migration: a study on Uyghur students in China

Uyghur college students’ heterogeneous acculturation and related strategies in developed Eastern Chinese Cities

“…This study will build on some contemporary studies on the acculturation of ethnic minority students in mainland China (Postiglione 2009(Postiglione , 2013Guo and Gu 2016). To further explore and understand the acculturation state and experience of ethnic minority students, qualitative research methods were adopted, as they seek to explain the nature and meanings of social phenomena, which is suitable for this study's research theme and purpose (Taylor 1971;Geertz 1994).…”

Educating China on the move: A typology of contemporary Chinese higher education mobilities

“…Education mobilities from the West to the East and from rural to urban areas are often conflated with movements of ethnic minority students to Han‐dominated educational institutions. For instance, in Guo and Gu's () research on Uyghur students and Yi and Wang's () about Tibetan students in Han‐dominated, urban universities in eastern China, these students commonly face a lack of symbolic cultural resources such as access to acquiring powerful languages; their ethnic identity and the diversity they represent are often reduced by institutional practices to homogeneity, thus these students encounter tremendous difficulty in fostering a sense of ‘biographic continuity’. Questions have been raised by researchers as to whether higher education policies in China with regard to ethnic minority students’ higher education can adequately prepare human capital for the respective minority groups, or whether it is merely about producing the conforming citizens that the party‐state desires (Yi & Wang, , p. 78).…”

Ethnicity, temporality and educational mobilities: comparing the ethnic identity constructions of Mongolian and Tibetan students in China

“…They seem indifferent to our history and culture, poetry and arts or religious beliefs. Such stereotypes, prejudice, or discrimination towards ethnic minority groups have been amply documented in existing studies (Yang 2017a(Yang , 2017bGuo and Gu 2016). Yang (2017b) and Yi and Wang (2012, 70), for instance, note that Han students attributed illinformed stereotypes to Tibetan students by portraying them as 'pre-modern', 'backward' and 'barbaric'.…”

“…Both studies point to a lack of space for ethnic exploration within the existing curriculum and subject choice in non-Minzu universities. Regarding Uyghur students, Guo and Gu (2016) similarly find limited space for these students to articulate their ethnic identity in positive ways. In terms of ethnic Mongolian students, Bulag's (2003) self-account is fraught with struggles that his extended family experienced owing to the economic and social impact of learning the Mongolian language.…”

“…Studies on dislocated Tibetan 1 college students have revealed the relationship between their ethnic identity construction and academic outcomes (Kayongo-Male and Lee 2004), strategies in ensuring the continuity of a sense of self-worth (Yi and Wang 2012), complexities and dilemmas in cultural citizenship negotiation (Yang 2017a;Yi 2014), and patterns of ethnic identity construction influenced by educational tracks (Yang 2017b). Uyghur college students with similarly dislocated schooling experiences are observed to have developed situated identities, placing more emphasis on their elite identity when compared with other Uyghur members and on their positive cultural heritage when in the company of Han students (Guo and Gu 2016).…”